I am away at college. My car was in the shop at home. When my dad went to pick it up it wouldnt start, posted in the electronics section about that. But anyways, they called a tow truck to get it home and when they towed it they used a regulat tow truck, not a flatbed. The rear wheels were on the ground. I have a 700R4. Any chance of tranny damage? The trip wouldve been no more than a few miles at speeds no greater than 45mph. Am I just freaking out over nothing? The tranny was rebuilt close to 2 years ago.

Thanks,

Matt

 

As long as it was in neutral it'll be fine

 

with the rear on the ground it'll spin the trans but not circulate any oil in it. few miles i doubt would make much differance but an extended trip would fry the trans.

 

any time i need to have my car towed i always say bring a flatbed. if they bring a regular tow truck i tell them to go back and get a flat bed. this goes for any car of mine not just my camaro.

 

I don't know how smart this is, but I have seen a guy tow his thirdgen on the rear wheels with his truck and one of those uhaul things for cars. The thing is, he left the car running. I figure this was to keep the tranny from frying. Would this really work?

 

It's illegal to tow a car backwards correct?

Just wondering...so you really should use a flatbed at all times?

 

I'd prefer my car to be towed backwards. I've had my firebird towed with the rear on the ground and the trans in neutral a few times. All were at highway speeds and for a decent amount of time (to the next city). Does that cause damage?

I almost never see flatbed tow trucks here in hawaii... in fact I doubt I've even seen one in the last few years.

 

They're around. It probably cost an arm & a leg to use their service which is why not many people use them If I had the money I would buy a used one for my own personal use cause I've been moving cars from different locations over the years Would've saved money on all the tow truck bills

 

Yeah its probably illigle to tow a car backwards because they the front wheels will be able to turn and the car will be swinging around the road. When it smacks into a wall and is totaled you will be alot more upset then if they killed the tranny.
If you have to go a long distance with the wheels on the ground with an auto transmission, pull the driveshaft to save the tranny. I would be scared for my front ground effect on a flatbed, anyone have any bad experiances with that?
If I was ever towing my car a long distance I would just pay u-haul the extra $60 for a trailor rather than a dolley

 

nope, thats why the have steering wheels that lock, i towed my 91 rs backwards, for some reason

 

They have steering wheels that lock for anti-theft purposes I thought. I could see that lock breaking if you tow it a long distance, especially if it goes through alot of turns.

 

the nice thing about flat beds is that the driver usually has a bunch of ramps to make it a really shallow angle so you can get low ground clearance vehicles on it. i just recently had my camaro put on a flat bed and was done successfully with only minor air damn scrapage.

 

I've seen cars towed backwards without any problems. In fact, the tow driver had great control over the car when he turned around and backed it into a garage. He only had to go back and forth once because it could turn so sharply.

Maybe they just need more skill (or insurance!) than the average tow guy. Who knows?

Oh and Ace, that'd be good if you're movin' a lot of cars- but the $200+ yearly reg & safety for a truck sucks. My '79 1/2 ton chevy is $187 and the truck is only worth about $500!

Laters,
Scott

 

Just bought an 87 IROC this past weekend. Since it was an automatic, I towed it backwards on the uhaul thing over 350 miles. Not any problems. I was told to tow it backwards, or look for a new tranny when I got it home. Just my 2cents.

 

My car was towed backwards. No problems.

 

If you're in a pinch, and need to tow an automatic with the rear wheels on the ground, just pop off the driveshaft.

I purchased a Firebird about 6 hours away and considered towing it backwards, but then reconsidered. When the guy that owned before me had pulled the engine, he disconnected the steering gear, and did not replaced the nut that secures the shaft to the steering box. I didn't see this until I got it home, several hundred miles later. The results could have been very bad had I decided to haul it backwards. Not that this would be a problem with your own vehicle, but a project car that you're not familiar with, I would be careful.

 

I used to tow cars like that. you run the seat belt through the steering wheel. I had to repo a old nova like that. (had no steering lock) besides most tow truck for hire companys have a locking bar just for that (we did not)

 

I've seen damage in as little as 2-3 miles when towed from the front. Do not do it, not worth the damage that might happen. Tow it from the rear and lock the steering with the seat belt as stated earlier.

 

Gotcha'. My usual tow guy always told me "it doesn't matter" everytime I asked him to tow it backwards. He'd just say that, then say it's safer to tow it from the front.

From now on I'll demand it towed from the back.

Also, now that I think about it, some of the cars I've seen towed backwards were fwd.

Laters,
Scott

 

If its a 5spd though it doesn't matter if its in neutral.

 

Never tow a car with the drive wheels on the ground regardless of whether it is in neutral or not. It tears up the differential gears.

 

Whys that? Doesn't the differantial fluid circulate itself?

 

Not sure exactly why it is, but i have a friend that is a tow truck driver and he said never to tow a vehicle with the drive wheels on the ground because it damages the diff and the tranny

 

ive seen em towed both ways. doesnt really matter anyhow. if they tow it backwards you better hope your in park.

i once pushed my car into my gurage in R when it was going forward... hope that didnt do any damage

 

pull the driveshaft off and you'll be leaving a nice trail of trans fluid as you go down the road.

 

Surley that can be fixed somehow with duct tape

 

i pulled the driveshaft off of my 81 bronco that i had and it didn't leak while pulling it

 

with the front end lifted tranny oil will go out the tailshaft.....if it didnt, there wasn't any in there to begin with

 

The reason that the tranny would be fried is that pump runs off the input shaft...if the driveshaft is spinning but the motor isnt running its cooked IN SHORT ORDER....so you either take out the DS or run the motor....but i really dont think that the pump can move enough fluid at idle when the output is spinning at hiway speed


when i lived in NYC i got my car impounded becasue of unpaid parking tickets ...and the MF'ers towed it by the rear wheels and litterally ground THROUGH the nose (we need a more p!ssed off smily) so with me having a 5 speed it will be either towed on a flatbed or by the front tires....

 

Okay I got another question for you guys.

My car is an auto, if I haven't mentioned it yet.

If I'm cruisin' downhill or someplace where I don't use the gas to keep speed, will putting it in neutral cause any problems?

I'm assuming that if my engine isn't running and I'm going downhill, it's best to put the transmission in neutral rather than drive. By the way, I don't do that last part intentionally....

Laters,
Scott

 

I could be wrong, but I think I heard that you might burn your clutches faster that way. But don't take my word for it.

 

Am I the only one who thought to just disconnect the drive shaft from the differential and tow it that way?

 

No, look a few replies up

I had to get mine towed backwards after the stock converter split open and left all the trans fluid on the road. That was a fun day Opened up the transmission and there was maybe half a quart left lol

 

when my 87 bird got stolen in akron ohio,they towed it backwards on a wheel lift from there to ontario canada, with no probs, i thought for sure they would flat bed it, i almost fell over when i saw it towed in like that. but the steering wheel lock holds fine for that, isn't really any force against it towing them that way anyway.

 

Yep.

 

Naah. Riding in neutral doesn't accelerate wear on a diff anymore than normal driving.

The only exception I could see maybe is a transaxle where diff and trans. share fluid & it's an automatic that you've left in neutral.

 

For some reason I remember the quote being over 1,000 bucks for a flatbed trailor....

 

double post

 

If you do that, just take the driveshaft completely off and use a plug for the end of the transmission instead of just tying the nice JG1 aluminum driveshaft in the tunnel and letting it drag on the concrete, ruining it for the next owner of the car.. Hmmmm.... Personal frustration???

Thankfully, the LS1 shaft I just got is much better than my tired old steel shaft I had to use for a while...